Religion, Race, and Justice in a Changing America

Authors:
Holly J. Lebowitz, Gary Orfield (editors)

Date Published:
September 01, 1999

The authors look back at the civil rights tradition, offer new insights from diverse religious communities including Protestant denominations, Jewish groups, evangelical organizations, and Islamic and Buddhist groups, among others, and examine the role of religion in a new movement.

About the Book

Religion, Race, and Justice in a Changing America,
a Century Foundation book, explores the changing nature of civil
rights initiatives, which has led to a more complex relationship
between religion and civil rights... Today, the quest for improving
the lives of racial minorities and pursuing justice is less a "movement"
and more a collection of diffuse efforts to fend off a retrenchment
from affirmative action and nondiscrimination laws, improve economic
prospects for residents of low-income urban neighborhoods, and organize
grassroots political activities. In that context, the relationship
between religion and civil rights has become less obvious.

Throughout the volume of essays, the authors look
back at the civil rights tradition, offer new insights from diverse
religious communities, and look ahead to the role of religion in
a new movement. These essays examine civil rights efforts of Protestant
denominations, Jewish groups, evangelical organizations, and Islamic
and Buddhist groups, among others. The book does not make specific
policy recommendations for future action, but rather begins the
process by setting forth the larger contexts in which the various
religious traditions and understandings are placed, with the hope
that these will raise some other, fresh questions and issues about
the application of religious principles to contentious issues of
public policy.

Table of Contents

Preface by Preston N. Williams and Holly J. Lebowitz

"Introduction: Religion and Racial Justice" by Gary Orfield

Part I. The Civil Rights Tradition: The 1960s
Movement and Today's Realities